Conservatives trailing behind NDP, Liberals in Nanos power index

The federal Conservatives are trailing behind the NDP and Liberals in the latest Nanos poll, with 41 per cent of Canadians saying they would consider voting for the Tories in 2015.

According to the weekly Nanos Party Power Index, 57 per cent of Canadians would consider voting for the Liberals, 44 per cent would consider voting for the NDP, and 41 per cent would consider voting for the Conservatives. Another 26 per cent said they would consider voting for the Green Party.

The Liberals have hit a new 12-month high when it comes to so-called accessible voters. Leader Justin Trudeau is also riding a wave of popularity, with 34 per cent of those surveyed saying he is their preferred choice for Canada’s next prime minister.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is trailing behind with 28 per cent of the vote, while Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair is at 15 per cent.

“So what does this tell us? (Liberals) got votes or potential support that they can burn because they can burn 17 points and still hypothetically form a majority government,” pollster Nik Nanos told CTV’s Power Play Wednesday.

However, when Canadians were asked whether each party leader had the qualities of a good political leader, Harper’s score rose from 50 per cent at the beginning of August to 55 per cent.

Trudeau’s score rose from 52 per cent to 57 per cent over the same time period.

“Trudeau comes out of the summer hitting a 12-month high,” Nanos said, adding that there has been “no traction for the Conservatives coming out of the summer.”

Nanos also noted that support for the Tories seems to be dropping among men, which is “very unusual.”

The latest Nanos data is based on random phone interviews with 1,000 Canadians, using a four- week rolling average of 250 respondents each week.

The survey is accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.